


Enervated

by Shortsnout



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Comfort, Established Relationship, Exhaustion, Fluff, Frostironstrange, Idiots in Love, Insecure Stephen Strange, Multi, OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29160585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shortsnout/pseuds/Shortsnout
Summary: Exhausted from an interdimensional battle, training new apprentices, and the constant critique from the new Master of the London Sanctum, all Stephen wants is to spend some quality time with his partners. The longer he waits for them in bed, the nosier his anxieties and self-doubts about being the Sorcerer Supreme become. Growing frustrated, he drags his fatigued body out of bed to search for them.
Relationships: Loki/Stephen Strange, Loki/Tony Stark, Loki/Tony Stark/Stephen Strange, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 19
Kudos: 143





	Enervated

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Foxglove_Fiction](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxglove_Fiction/gifts).



> This is a small gift for Foxglove_Fiction who requested something with an established Tony/Stephen/Loki relationship, with Stephen trying to get to sleep while dealing with the chaos that is Loki and Tony. I hope you enjoy it!

**Enervated**

Stars sparked along his retinas as he shoved the heel of his hands into his eyes, a point of pain he focused on to stay awake. Sighing, he shifted onto his side, thumping his pillow into an acceptable shape, only to roll onto his back moments later.

_Where the hell are they?_

Running his hand through his hair, Stephen tried to slow his breathing, to dispel the annoyance festering. This sort of thing didn’t usually bother him. There was an unspoken rule between the three of them. They didn’t put pressure on each other, they respected the autonomy and the passions each of them had. 

They left Tony alone when he was in one of his inventing crazes, only intervening if he forced his body beyond what it was capable of. Loki wasn’t disturbed when he worked on his spell casting, (the one-time Tony dared, he’d found every hair on his body had turned a violent, lime green) and neither of them bothered Stephen when he was studying.

It served them well, mitigated the arguments and bickering that came to them as natural as breathing.

Letting his arm fall back to the bed, Stephen inhaled deeply, feeling his exhaustion settle into the brittle things that were his bones. Times like this, the repercussions from the last interdimensional battle mixing with a full week of teaching apprentices, rested heavily on him. An invisible pressure of duty and expectation draining the life from him.

He knew he should delegate some of his responsibilities to the others, that it wasn’t his obligation to teach, but the guilt plucked at him every time he entered Kamar-Taj. He’d missed five years of his life while being dust. All the apprentices he’d begun on their training were now at the end of their journey.

He’d missed it all.

His eyes felt like they’d been rolled in grit and shards of glass, his body begging to be allowed to shut down and rest, to forget about the concerns squeezing on his brain.

_I can’t appear weak._

That had become his new mantra. What he told himself when he got up in the morning, when the threats to the Earth never seemed to stop, when he attended meetings with the other Masters of the Mystic Arts. The image of the new Master for the London Sanctum appeared in his mind’s eye.

She didn’t hold back when it came to ripping a strip out of Stephen’s hide, challenged him on any and all decisions. Their meetings ran over, he constantly had to portal over there to help settle their internal disputes. It took away valuable time spent with his partners, but the Masters couldn’t afford another squabble among themselves after Kaecilius and Mordo. They needed his guidance, his leadership.

The burden crushed him.

Even with all of that happening, he knew he was failing Loki and Tony. He hadn’t seen them in days, could barely spare time to call them, or answer their messages. Closing his eyes, Stephen could see the texts Tony had sent him, their words plastered over the inside of his eyelids. Stephen knew Tony better than anyone, knew he liked to hide away any vulnerabilities he felt for fear of being left alone again.

Despite Tony’s playful banter on the phone, Stephen saw through it, read the insecurities writhing between the lines.

‘FRIDAY?’ Wincing at the ache in his back as he propped himself up in bed, he reached down towards the floor, patting across the thick carpet for his Pyjama pants.

‘Yes, Doctor Strange?’

‘Where are they?’

‘Boss is down in the lab. Loki is in the library. Should I send them another message?’

‘No, it’s okay. You know what they’re like.’

FRIDAY illuminated the room with a soothing glow as he sat up, trying to coordinate his fatigued limbs into putting his pants on. This was the downside of staying with Tony, you never knew who you were going to stumble into walking around the facility. The room lurched as he got to his feet, his hands slamming onto the mattress as he tried to regain his equilibrium.

‘Are you feeling well, Doctor Strange? Should I call for someone to assist you?’

‘I’m alright, just too much melatonin, or not enough. God…I don’t even know which one it is.' He kept his head low, unable to lift it with the tension threading through his spine, his body screaming at him at the sheer effort it took to stand.

‘You’re the last one I expected to be saying this to, but you really should sleep. You’ll damage your health if you continue like this. You’re a doctor, you should know this,’ FRIDAY admonished.

Stephen chuckled, a dry, drained thing. He could hear Tony in his AI, a noticeable mark he’d left behind in the creature he’d created. 

It wouldn’t be difficult to force his body to sleep, but he’d promised Loki he wouldn’t do that to himself anymore. He’d suffered enough speeches about how a mortal’s body was fragile, and it needed looking after.

_Admit it. You struggle to sleep without them._

Even with that thought safe within the confines of his own mind, he felt embarrassed.

_Does that make me pathetic? I never used to depend on anyone._

The thoughts, his own anxieties gave birth to little insects, chittering and chattering inside his mind, luring him towards anger, feeding upon his exhaustion, gaining strength where he wavered.

‘Sleep deprivation. It’s not real, come on, Strange. Get it together.’

When he felt stronger, he shoved himself into standing and padded across the bedroom, smiling his gratitude to FRIDAY as she opened the door for him.

‘Thanks, sweetheart.’

Tony had redesigned the New Avengers Facility for maximum efficiency, a well-oiled, working machine with each member an integral cog to the agency. Newspaper clippings of the Avengers triumphs were framed on the walls, mementos of what they did for humanity.

Even with those accomplishments hanging on the wall, the home comforts littering the hallway, it didn’t hide Tony’s protectiveness over those he viewed his. The titanium enforced walls shone through, the green light of FRIDAY’s security system weaved through the ceiling, reminding them all they were safe.

As tired as he was, he still paused at Peter’s door, hand hovering over it. Despite wanting too, he didn’t crack open the door to stick his head around. Peter was a teenager, not a young child…he was a full-fledged Avenger for God’s sake.

‘He’s asleep, brainwaves are normal, his body is functioning as expected for a human with his mutation. Would you like me to show you a projection into his room?’ FRIDAY asked.

‘No. I trust you to look after him.’

‘He’s important to the three of you. Of course I’ll look after him.’

‘Do you have a setting for your sarcasm?’ Stephen touched the tips of his fingers to the door before he turned away.

The stray thought of it might have been faster to portal entered his mind as he padded down the eerie, silent metal corridor, but it wouldn’t stick, his sleep-addled mind refusing to concede it was a good idea.

Leaving the housing section behind, Stephen nodded at the few personnel he recognised in the communal area, a few SHIELD agents on a break between their shifts. He cast a longing look at one of the couches as he skirted around the edge of the room, his weariness licking at the edges of his consciousness in ebbs.

He recognised short, slicked back blond hair, but it took his mind a while longer to supply a name. The Avenger was on the phone, glancing up as he padded past silently, a spectre of insomnia. She lifted a gloved hand in greeting, lifting an eyebrow with a smirk at his bare chest.

Carol Danvers.

She was someone Stephen wanted to get to know better. A hybrid of human and alien, the living embodiment of the combination of human DNA and the Space Stone.

Her scrutiny and possible judgment of his character normally would’ve bothered him. He was the Sorcerer Supreme, and that came with some level of decorum, but he didn’t care about any of that now.

Ignoring the way slivers of agony now lit up the nerves in his hands, Stephen pushed on, treading the paths he’d walked down many times before when he needed to fetch one of his missing partners.

Slipping through the crack in the library doorway, Stephen spotted Loki lounging in his favourite armchair. He had his leg draped over the arm of it, swaying his bare foot back and forth. Utterly enthralled with the book he was devouring with his eyes, Loki didn’t give any sign of being aware of Stephen’s presence.

Even though his vision was blurring around the edges, Stephen took a moment to savour the view, his eidetic memory hoarding all the intricate details that made up the God of Mischief. Every part of Loki was a trick, a snare to lure you in. His enemies were lulled into thinking Loki was weak based on his looks alone. He was a viper, constantly watching, waiting to strike. Those supple and slender limbs belied a herculean strength that neither he nor Tony could match him in.

‘You told me you’d lost that book,’ Stephen whispered, his voice rough.

‘Otherwise you would demand its return. I am rather fond of it.’ Loki peered over the top of it, his smile teasing, drawing attention to the sharp features of his face. His mirth disappeared as he caught sight of the way Stephen’s hands trembled violently, sending shudders through his body.

The book disappeared into one of his pocket dimensions as he strode across the room. Taking Stephen’s elbows in his hands, he bent his head to catch Stephen’s gaze.

‘What ails you?’

_Everything. But my problems are insignificant compared to what you deal with._

Loki and Valkyrie shared the mantle of responsibility for the remaining Asgardians. They’d lost loved ones, their home, their standing in the universe. On top of all of that, Loki had once again been left behind by his brother. Oh, Stephen knew it was amicable, that Thor and Loki finally had a _healthy_ sibling bond. That didn’t change the fact Thor had left him here while he explored space with Quill and his merry band.

‘Nothing.’ Stephen twisted his arms, keeping his face blank and free of pain as they grasped each other’s forearms. ‘Can we _please_ go to bed now?’

Loki continued peering down at him before he conceded with a nod, inky hair falling forward to caress Stephen’s bare arms. 

‘Hold on,’ he said in warning.

Even though Stephen could portal, could do all sorts of things while manipulating the energy of the universe, he hated the feeling of Loki’s transporting. It had nothing to do with trust, he had willingly surrendered his energy to Loki on multiple occasions, trusted him to have his back in battle. What disconcerted him was the brief few seconds of feeling nothing, of melting away into the air around them to suddenly reappear somewhere else.

He lurched forward as his feet slammed down in Tony’s lab, his body becoming feeble the longer he fought against it.

‘Why didn’t you say anything sooner?’ Loki mumbled under his breath.

‘I did inform you Doctor Strange requested your presence,’ FRIDAY interjected.

Guilt etched across Loki’s face, his slender fingers soothing a hardened knot of muscle lurking between Stephen’s shoulder blades.

‘Come on, let’s just get Tony and go to bed.’ Stephen stopped any apology Loki tried to form, not wanting to get into a conversation.

He simply wanted to sleep.

As he had with Loki, Stephen took a moment to gaze at Tony, the way he circled countless holographic screens. The light of the holograms tinged his skin, touched the ends of his hair into a brilliant, dazzling blue.

He was a being of starlight, of creation. Their wonderful, broken man, forged through the fires of life, bent and remoulded, shaped by the harshness of life.

Tony was magnificent, a glimmer of creativity in the world of the mundane.

And he was all theirs. 

Tony minimalised and enlarged schematics as he went, FRIDAY translating all his mutterings as the Cloak trailed after him. Formulas and instructions flowed across the holograms, weaving through the intricate tapestry that was Tony’s mind.

‘He’s fascinating,’ Loki whispered, tugging on Stephen to support his weight.

‘Lokes? Stephen? What are-’

Dawning horror eclipsed his face as he stopped pacing, the Cloak smacking into him.

‘…I’m sorry, were you waiting for me?’ Tony waved his hand at the holograms, saving them.

‘It seems we’ve got a grouchy Sorcerer Supreme on our hands,’ Loki teased, relinquishing his hold to the Cloak as it settled on Stephen’s shoulders.

‘Traitor,’ Stephen hissed, ignoring the way it fluttered over his cheeks. Lifting his feet from the floor, the Cloak took his weight, giving his aching bones a reprieve. He groaned in relief, not caring how it looked, how the Cloak cocooned him.

‘What are you working on?’ Loki asked, kissing Tony’s brow, attempting to chase away the dread.

Even with their love and support, there were things they couldn’t take from Tony. His lingering doubts about not being worthy of love. He’d lost most of his old team, his relationship with Pepper, had been betrayed too many times, scarred on both the outside and inside of his body.

Tony stretched up on his tiptoes so he could look over Loki’s shoulder, waiting until Stephen gave him a weary nod of reassurance.

He shared the same desire not to burden Tony with his problems. Just as with Loki, Tony had more important things to worry about. The running of Stark Industries, Avengers meetings, dealing through his PTSD inflicted upon him from years of emotional trauma.

Their hushed voices washed over him, sweeping aside the endless buzzing inside his mind, submerging the doubts he’d been feeling recently. His body sagged further into the Cloak, the rigidity to his spine beginning to thaw as he drifted, close to the same mindful place he reached when he meditated.

_What if…what if I tell them I’m struggling with everything?_

Even as he thought it, he felt a violent wrench in his mind, and he lurched in the Cloak, spasms of pain radiating through his muscles.

_What do I even say? I know it’s ridiculous of me to be struggling when your problems are so much bigger than mine._

The chattering sound of his doubts grew louder, pulsing in his ears alongside his heartbeat.

_How do Tony and Loki handle their issues better than I do? Why is it only me struggling?_

‘We should test the applications of this with my magic!’ Loki’s excited babble shattered the semi-conscious crest of sleep he’d been coasting on.

_I feel out of control._

‘If we start now, we should be done in a few hours,’ Tony exclaimed snapping Stephen out of his spiral of despair.

‘Shut up!’ Stephen bellowed.

Slamming his feet down on the ground, he opened his eyes, gesturing between the two of them, enraged with them both.

‘I have been awake for _hours_ …only just recovered from a fight with that interdimensional creature. Do either of you even remember that? Then, I’ve had to sit through meetings with the most _incessant_ pain in the ass Master.’ Seething, he took a wobbly step forward, shrugging away the Cloak.

‘All I want to do is sleep, yet you _insisted_ I come here to spend quality time with you, and it’s been hours since I got here!’

Loki still had his hand raised in mid-air, and Tony’s mouth parted as he took a step back.

‘Either come to bed, or I’m leaving,’ he hissed, whipping the Cloak around him and storming out of the lab. He didn’t wait to see if they followed, fury and frustration churning inside him, sticking onto the inside of his chest, clogging his breathing as he went.

It wasn’t that hard to come to bed at a reasonable time. They knew he was planning to spend the evening with them.

_They chose to do their own things instead. It was pointless coming here._

They were already there when Stephen got back, Loki in the attached bathroom and Tony half undressed by one side of the bed. It appeased his anger a little, the buzzing in his brain quietening down, but he still flicked aside the bedcovers with more force than necessary. After he’d settled back down, he lifted his head to speak to Tony, frowning when he realised he was gone.

In the silence of the room, his anger abated, remorse filling the space left behind. He could hear them murmuring together behind the bathroom door, heard Loki’s voice pitch high in dismay before settling.

Glancing over when they came out, Stephen dragged himself into sitting as he saw Tony’s gaze was on the floor. Tony wrung his hands as he waited, the frantic squeezes burning his skin.

_Oh no._

Noticing, Loki reached out to pry them apart, clasping one in his own and dragging Tony to the bed. He hesitated at the edge, gaze flicking between Tony and the door. Loki preferred to sleep on the edge, guarding his partners against any perceived threats while they slept. His chest rose and fell in a sharp sigh as he repositioned Tony, taking the middle spot in the bed.

Loki snuffed out the lights with a wave of his hand, both he and Tony silently huddling together on the bed to get comfortable, leaving Stephen bereft on the side, a chasm between them.

Stephen’s unease grew as the minutes dragged past.

Out of the three of them, Tony was the most affectionate. Demanding hugs during the day, draping himself over their laps, sneaking kisses when unexpected. Loki was the complete opposite, reserved, scared to be affectionate.

It had taken Loki months to be tactile outside of intimate activities, the only place where he hadn’t erected a barrier between them all was the bedroom. In the safety of their bed, Loki fell victim to his subconscious, craving touch, needing to be held, loved, valued. He was an octopus when he slept, his limbs and hair entangling all those within reach.

Stephen always teased him about it, joking that Tony needed to take one for the team and stay in the middle, but to be snubbed like this.

‘Sorry, Stephen.’

Loki broke the silence. Their proud, unyielding prince was apologising. Tony never struggled to say sorry, his temper often disappearing as quickly as it flared up. But Loki… he nursed grudges. Even if he knew he was wrong, he would cling to his stubbornness with claws, curling around it and refusing to concede defeat.

‘Loki. I-’

‘Don’t leave.’

Tony’s small, cracked voice made Stephen sit up, his pain ignored as he reached for them both. He splayed his hand over the bare skin of Tony’s stomach, his nose burrowing into the gossamer strands of Loki’s hair.

‘No. God, no. Never. Don’t apologise to me…don’t think I’m going to-’

His voice faltered, the burning in his eyes congealing into a lump at the back of his throat. He was the strong one, the one who held it together for those who depended on him, for these two who meant the world to him.

A calloused hand rubbed over his forearm.

‘Sorry, I didn’t realise how tired you were, I know I’ve been bugging you-’

‘Stop,’ Stephen cut Tony off.

‘I don’t recall a time where you have raised your voice to either of us. Not in anger, not outside of battle.’ Loki sounded contemplative, sad.

‘This…this isn’t because of you. Either of you.’ Stephen clutched them closer, squeezing his eyes shut, the words corrosive on his tongue.

‘What’s…what’s the matter?’ Tony encouraged.

‘I’m so tired,’ he whispered, feeling the words expand in the room, suffocating him with the unsaid. ‘I’m struggling, with _everything_. Being the Sorcerer Supreme, dealing with the new Masters…I don’t know what I’m doing.’

The words hovered in the room, strangling him, shackling him.

Loki moved, rolling over his body and pushing him towards the middle of the mattress. Tony inched close on one side, while Loki bracketed Stephen’s body with his slightly taller one. Tony wriggled under one of Loki’s long arms, snuggling his head on Stephen’s chest, hooking a leg between his. Stephen was covered, smothered by them both.

‘Why do you never ask for help?’ Loki asked, kissing his temple.

‘I should be able to handle all of this. I’m the Sorcerer Supreme.’

‘So what? I saved the universe from Thanos, I’m like the Universe Saviour. That trumps whatever the hell you two are, and I still need hugs and reassurance.’ Tony traced his fingers over the hair on Stephen’s stomach, not as a precursor to anything, just exploring, touching with affection.

‘I’m a god,’ Loki offered simply. ‘Have battled legions of monsters before either of you were born, and yet I still require you both at night. You help soothe the pain, my fears,’ Loki whispered, tightening his hold.

‘I don’t feel like I can talk about my problems. They’re insignificant compared to what you both deal with-’

‘Your pain and suffering are still valid, beloved.’

‘We’re here to listen to you, your problems are important, honey.’ Tony nuzzled his cold nose further into his chest.

‘I don’t know where to start…’ Stephen murmured, drained at the thought of having to unpick his entangled mesh of a brain, to begin explaining.

‘FRIDAY, clear my schedule for tomorrow,’ Tony ordered.

‘All clear,’ she answered. ‘I’ve also taken the liberty of redirecting your calls and messages for the next twenty-four hours.’

Stephen looked up at the ceiling and offered a small smile.

‘I will pay a visit to the London Sanctum. It seems I need a word with the Master there.’

‘Loki, I don’t-’

‘She will learn to respect you, or she will deal with the consequences,’ Loki snapped.

‘After Loki scares her into submission, we’ll have a day to ourselves. Call Wong in the morning and tell him you’re having the day off, Universe Saviour’s orders,’ Tony yawned. ‘You can pick what we do…after we help talk through your problems.’ His words began to slur.

‘Sleep now,’ Loki’s voice lost its earlier heat, trailing the back of his finger over the bridge of Stephen’s nose, encouraging his eyes to close.

Stephen shut them, comfort settling into his lungs, trickling down into his tired body. Despite knowing Loki would probably squeeze the life out of him in the next few hours, he shuffled closer, one arm snaking out to hold Tony tighter to his body as he succumbed to sleep.

Everything would wait until tomorrow.

**The End**

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